Another Super Bowl, Another He Gets Us Ad

“What is Greatness?”

That’s the question posed by this year’s “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ad. With Johnny Cash plaintively singing about a “Personal Jesus,” we see images of people helping each other, hugging, and doing good deeds, including a man with a John 3:16 hat hugging a gay person at a Pride event and a man cleaning the phrase “Go Back” off of a building. 

As usual, the images check off a lot of boxes for inclusivity and political correctness, but it’s clear the creators wanted to be a little less controversial than previous ads, which portrayed Jesus as a gang leader or a refugee, and seemed more interested in scolding “judgmental” Christians than preaching the gospel.

Instead, they left Jesus out altogether.

The “He” of the “He Gets Us” ads is nowhere to be found. 

The ad shows various ways we can reach out and help each other. Those are really nice sentiments. But even people who don’t follow Jesus do those things. 

So what, if anything, does Jesus have to do with it?

Where is Jesus?

The chief marketing officer for the Come Near campaign, Paul Martin, claims, “Come Near’s vision is to use a lot of different types of mediums and create disruptive and personally [compelling] stories and experiences that reveal and invite people into the conversation and life of Jesus.”

Notice the word “create.” Not “tell.”

There are probably a zillion real stories they could have used to show Jesus in action in this world. I could Google that and come up with a list. I could talk to a pastor or a missionary or a woman working at the local crisis pregnancy center and get dozens of stories of real people doing God’s work in saving lives and serving people.

Instead, Come Near “creates” stories that fit the agenda they are really interested in. Instead of photos of real people, they used staged photos of made-up scenarios taken by a fine arts photographer. 

If you don’t believe these ads have an agenda, look no further than the ad agency that creates them. Lerma Ad Agency’s main goal is multiculturalism and inclusivity. Responding to questions about its stance on the LGBTQ+ community, it said:

"So let us be clear in our opinion. Jesus loves gay people and Jesus loves trans people … No matter who you are, YOU are invited to explore the story of Jesus and consider what it means for your life."

On the surface, this is perfectly true. Jesus loves all people, no matter their life choices. (I might argue there is no such thing as a “trans person,” because it is impossible to transition from one sex to another, but whatever.)

Jesus invites one and all to know Him and learn from Him. “Come and see,” He said when the first disciples wanted to know more about Him. To the crowd in Galilee, He declared, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28)

But. 

Jesus didn’t engage with people in order to validate their lifestyles and make them feel “included.” He engaged with them because they were sinners in need of repentance. 

He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matt 4:17). 

He said, “…unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 3:3). 

He said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32) 

He said, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7)

The “Jesus” of the He Gets Us ads is not the Jesus of the Bible.

It’s a fashion among the popular Christian teachers these days to emphasize love, forgiveness, and inclusivity without ever talking about repentance.

But Jesus isn’t just some glorious love vacuum. He isn’t just a moral archetype or a good guy who only wants to be your friend and help you out of tough situations. 

He is the Lord and Savior of the world. 

The Real Jesus

Jesus was not the least bit sentimental. He was straightforward, unequivocal, and unapologetic.

He told his followers, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink.” (John 6:53-56)

Many people stopped following him after that.

He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)

He said, “I came not to bring peace but a sword.” (Matt 10:34)

He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Jesus isn’t a choice. He isn’t one way to experience God. He’s the way. The only way. 

Offending the Offenders

The Jesus of the Bible could also be pretty offensive. 

He called the Pharisees “blind guides,” (Matt 15:14) “brood of vipers” (Matt 12:34) “hypocrites” (Matt 22:18) “children of hell” (Matt 23:15) and “whitewashed tombs” (Matt 23:27).

He used a whip to drive the money-changers, a racket cooked up by the Sadducees, out of the temple. (John 2:15-17)

He offended people in the synagogue by pointing out that Elisha and Elijah healed non-Jews. (Luke 4:27) For that, they tried to push him off a cliff.

He offended his mother and brothers by denying his relationship to them. (Mark 3:33)

He called a whole crowd, including his own disciples, “a faithless and perverse generation.” (Matt 17:17)

He likened Jewish towns to Sodom and Sidon. (Matt 11:21-24)

He referred to Gentiles as “dogs.” (Matt 5:26)

But Jesus didn’t offend people just to be offensive. He wanted to wake them up. To shake them from their complacency and face the truth. “The truth will set you free,” He said. He wanted people to stop being slaves to sin. To live in freedom.

Most people aren’t interested in God’s truth. They prefer their own.

Phony Jesus

The ad’s creators claim they plan to spend $1 billion on the He Gets Us ad campaign. All to peddle a phony Jesus to a public more interested in inclusivity and diversity than truth. 

How many real lives could be saved with $1 billion dollars? How many unborn babies? How many children could be fed or homes built or victims rescued?

Yes, the ad creators say that millions of people Googled Jesus after seeing the ad. Perhaps some of those people ended up accepting Him as Lord and Savior. I hope that’s the case. My guess is that, once they look a little deeper, most of those people would be just as offended by the real Jesus as the first-century Pharisees.

He Gets Us ads are all grace and no truth. They send the message that Jesus loves you no matter what you do. But the real Jesus, while loving people, hated what they were doing and told them how they needed to change.

“Go and sin no more,” He told the woman caught in adultery. (John 8:11)

“Sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and then you can follow me,” He told the rich young ruler. (Matt 19:21). 

And then there’s this:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matt 7: 13-14)

The He Gets Us ads depict a gate as so wide you could drive a semi through it.

So what is greatness, according to the He Gets Us ad? Well, greatness is kindness, apparently. Greatness is inclusivity. Greatness is hugging. Being nice. Helping. Treating others as you would want them to treat you.

You don’t need Jesus for any of those things. 

You need Jesus to save your soul. 

That’s what makes Jesus the Greatest.